Chicago Pension Bills Soar as City Pays Up to Keep Funds Solvent
- City will pay $1.18 billion to pensions in 2018, report says
- Projected budget gap is the smallest since 2007, city says
Buildings stand in the cityscape as seen from the Willis Tower in Chicago.
Photographer: Tim Boyle/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Chicago will contribute $1.18 billion to pensions in 2018 as the junk-rated city steps up payments to put its retirement funds on a path to solvency, even as the unfunded liabilities keep growing.
The city will pay $792 million to the police and fire pensions, $344 million to the municipal workers’ fund and $48 million to the laborers’ fund next year, according to its annual financial analysis released Monday. The metropolis forecasts a $114.2 million budget deficit in 2018, the smallest since at least 2007, the report shows.